GM confirms Britt's knee surgery
Kenny Britt, WR, TEN
3:29 PM
News: Titans general manager Ruston Webster confirmed to
The Tennessean that wideout
Kenny Britt will have a second surgery on his injured right knee. He tore his ACL last September and will have what Webster called a "minor" arthroscopic procedure on it. Webster called the surgery "commonplace" and doesn't expect Britt to miss much time in rehab because of it. Titans defensive end
Derrick Morgan had a similar procedure last year following a torn ACL and played 14 games. Britt is expected to be ready for the start of the season.
Analysis: A week ago Britt told the media that he had begun to run and cut and felt good about where he was at in his rehab. Granted, more surgery doesn't mean he won't be ready to go, but it's still troubling all things considered. For now, assume Britt will be ready to go at some point early on in 2012. If he misses a chunk of training camp for whatever reason, it might mean he'll start the season off slowly. If he doesn't and he's participating in full, then there shouldn't be anything stopping him from being a capable contributor. Figure Britt to be more of a sixth-round pick in drafts based on his enormous potential. We'll keep you posted.
News: A year ago,
DeSean Jackson was sweating a long-term contract extension and did some silly things like hold out of training camp and not focus on football. His stats suffered until the end of the year when he started to play well on a fairly consistent basis (15 catches for 263 yards and two touchdowns in his final four games). But he got the long-term deal he was looking for this offseason and says his focus is all about football this summer, adding that "100 pounds of stress" were taken off his shoulders. "It was a tough year for myself, had a lot of struggles, had a lot of things that just took me off of my game and my focus," he told the
Philadelphia Inquirer. "This year, a lot of that has just been removed, and I'm able to focus and be comfortable and be confident that I'm at a place where I'm wanted. I just really want to be able to bring a championship to the city."
Analysis: Jackson has clearly learned from his mistakes and doesn't have to sweat a contract now that he has one (five years worth $51 million). D-Jax is the definition of a boom-or-bust Fantasy player: He had at least 11 Fantasy points in six games in 2011 with four points or less in seven games. Consistency isn't Jackson's strong suit but the glimmer of hope he showed at the end of the year might be enough for Fantasy owners to begin the year with him as their No. 2 receiver. Figure him to be taken between Rounds 5 and 6 in drafts this summer.
Hightower still not cleared by doctors
Tim Hightower, RB, WAS
10:52 AM
News: Redskins running back
Tim Hightower is grateful for his opportunity to stay with the team after tearing his ACL last October. And while it remains to be seen just how much playing time he'll have -- doctors have yet to clear him for football activities according to the
Washington Post -- Hightower's focus is just on getting his legs back to normal. "That's the least of my worries right now," he said about regaining the starting job. "My focus is on improving each day and really committing to getting into the best shape I can. That stuff will get determined in due time when it should be. I've just got to stay determined."
Analysis: The paper speculates that Hightower has the best chance to start for Washington because of his experience in their rushing scheme and his pass protection skills. We'd be surprised to see Hightower land the majority of carries right off the bat given his ACL injury and the finish Roy Helu and Evan Royster had last season (they'll fight for playing time this summer). At the very least Hightower could work as the Skins' third-down back and short-yardage/goal-line back, roles he's done well with in the past. Figure Hightower to be a late-round pick for depth in Fantasy drafts, especially for those owners who spend a good pick on Helu.
News: After looking great in his first offseason practice open to the media, Raiders running back
Darren McFadden said he feels back to normal and has his sights set on reaching a personal goal of 1,800 yards this season. McFadden is coming off of a Lisfranc foot sprain that cost him nine games last year after he totaled 768 yards and five scores in seven games. Coach Dennis Allen says he'll spare McFadden some reps in an effort to keep McFadden healthy for as long as possible. "I'm just out there playing, going hard," McFadden said according to the
Contra Costa Times. "If I get hurt, so be it. I could see it if I was just going down the street, falling over, getting hurt. It's all behind me. If I get hurt going hard, I can't do anything about it. ... I feel like I got my feet wet in the NFL, now I have my confidence, so it's just going out there and playing with confidence. I'm going to go out there and run the ball."
Analysis: The more we hear about McFadden practicing and doing well, the more likely Fantasy owners will want to gamble a Top 25 pick on him this summer. Potentially, McFadden could evolve into a 20-touch-per-week running back now that there isn't a dedicated or reliable backup behind him on the Raiders roster (Mike Goodson figures to be the guy). But he's also been injury prone over his career -- he's never played more than 13 games in a season. But when he has played, he's been awesome: He's averaged 88.5 rush yards and 33.0 receiving yards over his last 20 starts with 15 total touchdowns (and that's been with Michael Bush playing alongside him). Staying healthy is a major factor, and it's something Fantasy owners will have to consider with him. It's OK to draft McFadden with that Top 20 pick (likely between 13th and 20th overall), but in doing so you must also commit to drafting his backup -- for now that's Mike Goodson -- as a handcuff for if/when McFadden gets hurt.
Vitt: Brees won't be impacted by suspensions
Drew Brees, QB, NO
10:20 AM
News: Franchise-tagged quarterback
Drew Brees might not be under contract to play for the Saints at this moment, but expectations are that he'll at least sign his one-year tender and be on the Saints in 2012. The same can't be said for head coach and offensive playcaller Sean Payton, who was suspended for the 2012 season as part of the Saints' penalties for their role in "Bountygate." Payton will not be allowed to help the Saints with their game plans for the entire season, and some believe that his absence will hurt the offense. But interim coach Joe Vitt believes that Brees' relationship with offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael, who isn't suspended, will keep the offense afloat. "Nobody knows
Drew Brees as well as Pete. Nobody knows Pete as well as
Drew Brees," Vitt told the
New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They were tied at the hip in San Diego, so they speak a common language and common verbiage."
Analysis: If this were a younger quarterback or a quarterback on a new team, we'd see this as a problem. But Brees has been with the Saints since 2006, working in the same offense for six seasons going on seven. Even without Payton, we don't see Brees falling apart. If anything, we think the Saints defense will struggle this season, which means more passing from Brees. We still view Brees as an elite Fantasy QB worth a first-round pick.
News: The
Indianapolis Star reports that Colts running back
Delone Carter is on the mend from thumb surgery this offseason. He is expected to be ready for training camp.
Analysis: Carter is expected to be the No. 2 running back behind Donald Brown, and he should be considered a sleeper on Draft Day. The Colts will likely lean on their ground game, and Carter could be a change-of-pace rusher and work at the goal line. Brown has more upside coming into the season, but Carter is someone to target in standard leagues with a late-round pick.
News: Titans rookie tight end
Taylor Thompson didn't play his position in college -- he was a defensive end -- but you wouldn't know it based on the team's recent minicamp. According to the official team website, Thompson ran smooth routes and caught everything thrown at him. That might have been because Thompson says the Titans run an offense similar to what the offense ran at SMU when he was there. "I felt very comfortable on offense. "I've learned a lot the past few days and I'm just having a great time," Thompson said. "I'm pretty familiar with what they're running here. It's similar to what Coach (June) Jones ran at SMU.”
Analysis: Thompson is a project-type player, though one with awesome size (6-foot-6, 287 pounds) and athleticism. Questions about his endurance and obviously his experience keep him from being a full-fledged Fantasy sleeper. If he stands out in training camp then it's just a matter of time before he helps the Titans offense and Fantasy owners. If he struggles, then he's probably a few years away. The Titans also have tight end Jared Cook on the roster along with a number of receivers, so there isn't much of a chance of Thompson putting up huge stats anytime soon. For now he's worth a late pick in dynasty/keeper leagues and a mid-round pick in rookie-only drafts.
Sounds like Weeden closing in on QB job
Brandon Weeden, QB, CLE
9:55 AM
News: Browns coach Pat Shurmur didn't hide his optimism for rookie passer
Brandon Weeden in the days following the team's rookie minicamp. Weeden displayed a strong arm in his first few practices with the team and should give the Browns a passer who can legitimately threaten defenses, which is something that's been missing for a few years. "There's no question I think he's headed in the right direction," Shurmur said according to the
Akron Beacon-Journal. "He showed us in the first minicamp that he can throw the ball in this league, and now we'll get a chance to see him interact with the team, the full squad, and see how he does. ... I think he's extremely accurate. His strong arm really showed up in this minicamp. There's something natural about his play. He hadn't really thrown to these receivers before and to be able to throw somewhat precise routes and be very accurate, that was good to see.
Analysis: Considering that the Browns' other choices at quarterback are Colt McCoy and Seneca Wallace, it only figures to be a matter of time before Weeden is officially named the starter. Weeden posted big stats in college (and completed over 72 percent of his passes his senior year), but he won't have a receiver like Justin Blackmon in Cleveland (Greg Little isn't quite that guy). And he's much older than your typical rookie -- he turns 29 in October. We think Weeden has a good shot to oust McCoy and Wallace from the top spot. He's got the smarts and arm to work in a West Coast style of offense. With the Browns' receiving corps among the ugliest in the league, though, he could struggle to put up a ton of numbers. We wouldn't draft him in standard seasonal leagues but would take a flier on him late in dynasty/keeper leagues drafts as well as spend an early- to middle-round pick on him in rookie-only formats.
News: Free agent fullback
Owen Schmitt signed Tuesday with the Raiders, the team announced. Schmitt played his first two seasons with Seattle and the past two with Philadelphia. He's appeared in 51 games with 12 starts. Starting fullback
Marcel Reece has yet to sign his exclusive rights tender and isn't participating in the offseason program.
Analysis: He's not expected to put up big stats. Keep him off of Fantasy rosters.
News: Outside linebacker
Darius Fleming, the 49ers' fifth-round draft pick out of Notre Dame, tore his ACL during the team's rookie minicamp according NFL.com. Fleming was one of two linebackers the team selected in the draft, the other being Virginia's
Cam Johnson (seventh round).
Analysis: Fleming had some potential to contribute to the Niners' pass rush but it appears he won't be doing much of anything this year. Too bad. It's fine to pass on him in all leagues including rookie-only drafts.
